By Sea, By Land

These works draw on medieval reliquaries, talismanic objects imbued with power to guide and protect. For centuries humans have projected deepest fears and fervent hopes onto such devotional objects. Here they are represented by contemporary objects associated with global migration and the perilous journeys made by people compelled to leave their homeland. By Sea I contains opening words from W.B. Yeats’ poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree, partnering Yeats’ romantic longing for an imagined sanctuary in nature with realities of the asylum seeker. Human history is shaped by migration, connecting us to the animal kingdom and to free movement around the globe by sea, by land, by air.